Tag: Owner

Tis the Season of the Home Cooked Meal

What does this mean for you? Well as investors it means high plumbing bills if you’re not careful. Talking with a plumber we weren’t surprised at the amount of calls they get related to food/grease down the kitchen sink and into your pipes. The problem is many people, including your tenants, don’t know how big of an issue this is.

So, what really happens?

When you put the grease of your delicious holiday meal down the drain it has to go somewhere. Or so we think. However, our plumber explained to us that it actually cools, congeals, and clogs pipes. This leaves the water with nowhere to go. Hence those lovely pictures of backed up sinks we see from tenants.

So, what are best practices in this scenario?

After you cook our plumber recommends allowing the grease to cool and solidify in the pan itself. Once it’s cool you want to transport it to any sort of container with a lid. Making sure that you wipe down the pan before washing as there will likely be remnants. Then toss the container into the garbage. Pretty easy, right? For bonus points go ahead and compost any food scraps vs. using your garbage disposal as that gets into a whole other costly expense. Don’t forget that the tenant might not know these best practices. Explain to your tenants when they move in the importance of following the drain protocol. Around the holidays, send a reminder email to your tenants about these things! Finally, consider implementing a service fee to the tenant if the plumber must come out because of grease filled pipes.

More questions on best practices with your property? We’re here to help. Reach out!